Book Review: A Slay Ride Together with You by Vicki Delany (Year-Round Christmas Mysteries #7)

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: The characters are charming as always

Cons: The mystery could have been better

The Bottom Line:

Wedding and Easter

Complicated by murder

Plot needed some work

Spring Brings Another Murder to Rudolph

Despite the fact that this series from Vicki Delany is the Year-Round Christmas Mysteries, most of the books have still taken place in December. I mean, that is peak Christmas season, right? We are actually visiting in spring with A Slay Ride Together with You, the seventh in the series.

If you haven’t found this series before, it stars Merry Wilkinson, a resident of Rudolph, New York. When the industry in the town started to die down, the residence leaned into the name and became a Christmas themed tourist town. Merry herself owns Mrs. Claus’s Treasures, which features fine holiday themed decor items.

As I said, this book takes place in spring, which is a bit slower time in Rudolph.  That means it is the perfect time for Merry’s friends Vicky and Mark to get married.  They’ve chosen the Saturday before Easter for a small wedding for just family and a few friends.  They’re also excited because they’ve just bought the Cole House.  It’s been abandoned for years, so it will need a lot of work, but it’s also the only way they were able to afford it.

However, the house turns out to be a bit of a nightmare, complete with weird sounds in the middle of the night.  When Merry visits one night, the evening ends in disaster when the three finds a dead body on the property.  Worse yet, the police think Mark might be the killer.  Despite being warned away from the investigation, Merry starts to gather information.  Can she figure out what happened?

Normally, I enjoy these books, but I have found one or two that weren’t quite as good.  Unfortunately, this is one of those times.  The plot just didn’t work for me.  The story took way too long to get going – to even really have an idea where things were going to go.  Tension wise, the story did pick up once the murder had happened, but I felt like the it just didn’t work overall.  Having said that, my questions were answered at the end.

Since this is set in spring, this book doesn’t have the cozy Christmas vibes you might be expecting before you pick the book up.  Being a Southern California resident where we only ever dream of a white Christmas, I was surprised to find that I was wishing for some snow to give me more of the Christmas vibes.  Having said that, I did enjoy getting to visit Rudolph outside of December.  This is more a me thing than anything having to do with the book.

I’m glad to say the cast of characters were as charming as always.  I always enjoy getting to visit them, and this book was no exception.  The suspects we met were all interesting and did a great job of pulling me further into the story after the murder happened.

One of the subplots of this book is Vicky working on a proposal for a cookbook.  You see, Vicky runs the bake shoppe in town and her creations are extremely popular.  We benefit since we get three recipes at the end of this book that come from her cookbook.

Fans of the series will want to visit Merry and the gang in A Slay Ride Together with You.  But if you haven’t started the series yet, you can skip this one.

Here are the rest of the Year-Round Christmas Mysteries.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

September 15th's Sunday/Monday Post

Welcome to the weekend!  Time for this week's Sunday/Monday Post, where I will be linking up to:

Sunday Post
Sunday Salon
Stacking the Shelves
It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

Not much happened this week.  I worked, and made some great progress on all the deadlines I have this month.  I'm on pace to meet my deadlines for Tuesday and Friday of this coming week, which is a relief.  September is the craziest month for me, so I'm always happy when stuff starts to to fall into place.

The weather has seriously cooled off.  After being over 100 on Sunday and Monday, it's now in the 80's.  And it's supposed to be in the 70's the early part of next week before starting to warm up again.

Hopefully, that will help the wildfires.  We've got a bunch of them all over the state.  Nothing that is near me, fortunately, but I have some friends dealing with the smoke.

And today is game day.  So I'd better get this draft finished (I'm typing Saturday morning but won't post until much later), so I can finish getting ready to go.

This Past Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - Ornament Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Tuesday - Book Review: Until Depths Do Us Part by K.B. Jackson

Wednesday - TV Show Review: Night Court Reboot - Season 2

Thursday - Book Review: 26 Below by Kimberly Woodhouse

Friday - Friday Post featuring Mrs. Claus and the Nightmare Before New Year's

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

This Coming Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - Book Review: A Slay Ride Together with You by Vicki Delany

Tuesday - Movie Review: The Cases of Mystery Lane - Murder is Listening

Wednesday - Book Review: Mrs. Claus and the Nightmare Before New Year's by Liz Ireland

Thursday - Movie Review: Venom - Let There Be Carnage

Friday - Book Review: What Time the Sexton's Spade Doth Rust by Alan Bradley

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

Book Haul:

I've got three books to tell you about this week.

I've actually already read the first, which is The Glass Bottom Hoax by Diane Vallere.  This is the latest in her Madison Night Mysteries, and it's great that I'm actually caught up on this series.  This latest is a lot of fun, with Madison undercover on a cruise ship.  I still need to write the review, but I'm planning to review it on release day, which is 9/24, so I've got a little time yet.

I also got an ARC of The Gardener's Plot by Deborah J. Benoit.  This book won a contest to get published by Minotaur Books, and I've enjoyed some of the other authors who got published this way.  I'm anxious to see what I think of this one.  I'll be reading and reviewing it closer to it's release in November.

Finally, I snagged the ebook version of Big Trouble on Sullivan's Island by Susan M. Boyer.  She's been on my radar for a long time, but I haven't read anything by her yet.  I may have the first book in her first series around here somewhere.  Anyway, couldn't pass up 99 cents for the book.

What I'm Currently Reading:

I'm currently reading Wonton Terror by Vivien Chien, the fourth in her Noodle Shop Mysteries.  Since book 10 just came out, I am woefully behind in the series.  I'm enjoying this one, which deals with a death at a night market.  It's looking like I'll still be working on this one come Monday.

That's it for me.  Have a great week!

Reading Challenge: 20 Books of Christmas Reading Challenge 2024

 Well, I couldn't let this one pass me by, could I?  I'm joining one more reading challenge for 2024.  This one is a seasonal one - the 20 Books of Christmas reading challenge.  The idea is as simple as it sounds - read Christmas themed books between now and the end of the year.  I don't quite have 20 books I'll be able to count between now and then, but fortunately, we can shoot for something lower, like 15 or 10 or 5.

Me?  I'm going to shoot for 7.  Yeah, I know.

Here's the thing.  These books were already on my radar to read for Christmas this year.  Three of them are just about to come out, and I'll be reviewing ARCs.  The rest I'm buying and waiting to read until December.  The final one will hopefully be out in time for me to read it in December.  If not, I'll hit six Christmas books this year.

Good thing this is a flexible challenge, right?

Enough rambling, here are the books I'll be including in the challenge.

1. A Slay Ride Together with You by Vicki Delany
2. Mrs. Claus and the Nightmare Before New Year's by Liz Ireland
3. A Merry Little Murder Plot by Jenn McKinlay
4. Shock and Paw by Cate Conte
5. Sleep in Heavenly Pizza by Mindy Quigley
6. Rockin' Around the Chickadee by Donna Andrews
7. Fatal Food Festival Mystery #4 by Cathy Wiley (and when I see the title again, I'll update)

That should keep me busy, right?

Here's to a merry next few months reading.

September 14th's Weekly TV Thoughts

You can tell we are about to switch to the regular TV season.  I just have one show on my list this week.  Of course, the other shows I've been talking about will also be back next week in addition to two season debuts.  Still, it's crazy when I have a week like this, however.

American Ninja Warrior – Joe was so close!  I’m not sure how he’d realistically do on stage 4 against the young guys, but it would have been great to see him make it there.  I was rooting for Vance to repeat if it couldn’t be Joe, but I would have been happy with any of the final five.

I will start linking this up with The Sunday Watch.

Friday the 13th's Friday Post

Welcome to Friday the 13th!  Time to check in with a Friday Post, where I will be linking up to:

Book Beginnings
First Line Friday
Friday 56
Book Blogger Hop

For the first three, I will be be pulling quotes from Mrs. Claus and the Nightmare Before New Year's by Liz Ireland.

This is the fifth in the Mrs. Claus Mysteries series.  And yes, our main character is the real Mrs. Claus.  Which put the opening sentence in context:

You don't know the meaning of "mixed emotions" till you've waved your beloved spouse off on a round-the-world trip in an overloaded antique sleigh powered by flying reindeer.

Meanwhile, on page 56, we find this exchange between Mrs. Claus and one of her best friends - Juniper, who happens to be an elf.

Juniper looked as if she might speak, hesitated, then took a long drink of eggnog.
I leaned forward. "What?"
Her eyes widened. "What?"
"You were going to say something, but then you did that awkward looking-away thing everyone did last night. As if there's this big secret I'm not supposed to know."
"It's not a secret," she said. "We Santalanders just don't like to talk about it."
My curiosity ramped up another notch. "About what?"
She looked around furtively, then lowered her voice. "Adolph the Naughty."

Want to know more?  You'll have to wait until the book comes out on the 24th to find out what secret they've been hiding.  You won't have to wait as long for my review, however, which will be out on Wednesday.

For now, let's switch over to the Book Blogger Hop.  This week's question is:

It's back-to-school time. What book would you recommend to students, whether it's an educational read or an enjoyable diversion from textbooks?

I've been itching to reread the books of Elizabeth George Speare, especially The Bronze Bow and The Witch of Blackbird Pond.  Both great pieces of historical fiction.  If you haven't read them or haven't read them in a while, go pick them up!

Have a great weekend!

Book Review: 26 Below by Kimberley Woodhouse (Alaskan Cyber Hunters #1)

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Darcie and Jason

Cons: Plot was uneven

The Bottom Line:

Attack in the cold

This thriller is uneven

With compelling leads

Can Darcie and Jason Stop a Villain Cold?

I ran across the Alaskan Cyber Hunters series a few months back, and I thought it sounded intriguing, so I put 26 Below, the first, on my to be read pile.  While there were parts I enjoyed, the book also had some flaws.

Darcie Phillips has just been made the Emergency Operations Center Director for Fairbanks, a new initiative from the governor’s office.  In her role, she is supposed to do everything possible to prevent emergencies and be prepared if any do happen.  She’s brought in Jason Myers for his expertise in all things cyber security.

The office is barely up and running before some woman starts to appear in Fairbanks warning of a coming crisis when the temperatures hit 26 below zero.  Since winter is coming, that means Darcie and Jason have to scramble to be ready for it.  But what even is going to happen when the temps drop that low?

I was hoping for a page turning thriller when I picked up this book.  Sadly, that didn’t turn out to be the case.  Instead, we got lots of buildup.  Now, I can appreciate good suspense just as much as the next reader, but this book needed something more to happen sooner.  The few times something did happen, it either was resolved quickly or it was dropped.

Then the temps do drop to 26 below.  Oh, you know it was coming.  The book did pick up at this point.  I’m still not sure the payoff was worth the set up, but I did enjoy it.

Darcie and Jason were interesting main characters, and I enjoyed spending time with them.  They both had some things in their past that they had to confront as well as an increased attraction to each other.  The rest of their team and the other characters are rather thin, however, since the book was really focused on them.

This is a Christian novel.  It’s been years since I read one, and I found it more refreshing than I thought I would.  I even found myself moved to tears at one point, which I definitely wasn’t expecting.

I think part of my surprise with this book was that this was more of a character study than I was expecting.  I was looking for more thrills, but it was more about Darcie and Jason.  And maybe that’s where my expectations weren’t in line with the book I picked up.

Each scene includes the date, time, and temperature.  You know me and timelines.  So you can imagine my surprise when the timelines didn’t quite add up a couple of times despite the author having an easy way to keep track.

But I had to laugh at myself as I was reading.  The temperatures the characters were talking about as being pleasant I consider very cold.  There’s a reason I don’t live up in Alaska.

Will I read more in the series?  I haven’t quite decided yet.  I am curious where the story is going to go.  While it looks like the other two books have different lead characters, this book ended with some things left unresolved.  Yes, the main story is resolved, but there are some other threads to follow, and I’m curious to see where the author would go with them.  Maybe I’d like those other books better knowing what to expect.

While I wish I had enjoyed 26 Below better, I am glad I picked it up.  If you are looking for a bit of a more character driven story with a light thriller, you should consider this book.

TV Show Review: Night Court Reboot - Season 2

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: A few episodes made me laugh

Cons: Most are only half funny

The Bottom Line:

The show has some laughs

But they still aren’t consistent

But new cast does help

“I Shouldn’t Judge a Book by the Fact That It’s All Pictures.”

I wasn’t completely impressed with the first season of Night Court, but I laughed enough to give season two a try.  I laughed about the same amount, which isn’t necessarily a good thing.

Once again, we are in the night court of New York City where Abby Stone (Melissa Rauch) is the judge.  For the public defender’s office, we have Dan Fielding (John Larroquette), who used to be a prosecutor.  On the prosecution side, we have Olivia (India de Beaufort) who wants to be just about anywhere else.  Rounding out the cast, we have Gurgs (Lacretta), the bailiff, and Wyatt (Nyambi Nyambi), the new clerk who starts a couple of episodes into the season.

Due to the strikes, we only got 13 episodes.  Also due to the strikes, the season premiered later than originally planned.  That means, we get the Christmas episode first before going back to see how the season 1 cliffhanger was resolved.  In case you need reminding, it involved Dan taking a job as a judge in New Orleans and having Roz (guest star Marsha Warfield) from the original Night Court show up before him.  No surprise to anyone, Dan winds up back in night court in NYC as the public defender as a result of what happens in what should have been the first episode of the season.

So what does befall the gang this season?  Budget cuts threaten the court.  A hacker is threatening to reveal everyone’s secrets.  Comic con and fashion week both impact the court in weird ways.  And the Wheelers, hard luck characters from the original, turn back up.

As I said earlier, some episodes work better than others.  There are a few I genuinely enjoyed all the way through.  The one with the Wheelers comes to mind.  On the other hand, many of them half work for me.  I find one storyline funny but another storyline is painfully unfunny.  Typically, the storylines involving Olivia don’t work.  Gurgs is right behind her, although she has her moments.  I think the problem is the writers don’t really know what to do with these two characters more than that the performances from the actresses are lacking.  Abby and Dan continue to entertain me, and Wyatt is a promising addition to the mix.

Fans of The Big Bang Theory will find the episode where Kunal Nayyar shows up as a fashion designer fun.  Brent Spiner and Annie O'Donnell reprised their roles as the Wheelers, and they brought along Kate Micucci as their daughter, Carol Ann.  It was fun to see that Big Bang reunion as well.

Overall, I feel like my issue with the show is the writing.  When a script is good, the entire cast can make me laugh.  But when a script is just okay, no amount of acting or comedic timing will save it.

Yes, I’ll probably keep watching this show next season as well.  Unless I can find a better sitcom that will genuinely make me laugh, this is the next best thing.  It’s sad that sitcom fans have to settle for things like season 2 of Night Court instead of truly great shows that will make us laugh.

Book Review: Until Depths Do Us Part by K.B. Jackson (Cruising Sisters Mysteries #1)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Great main characters in a complex mystery and a great setting

Cons: A few things, but they were minor overall

The Bottom Line:

Wedding on board ship

But then the bride is murdered

Pack bags for debut

Sailing Away with a Dead Bride

I don’t always remember how an author first crosses my radar, but I do know I’ve wanted to try author K.B. Jackson for a while.  So, when I won a copy of Until Depths Do Us Part, the first in her Cruising Sisters Mysteries, I decided to give it a try.  I’m so glad I did.

Recent widow Charlotte McLaughlin had her world turned upside down when her husband of twenty years died.  It wasn’t just his death but the bombshells he left behind as well.  One thing she learned about was the cabin aboard a private residence ship that he’d purchased in both of their names.  That comes in handy when her nephew, Andy, finds himself looking for a wedding venue just a few weeks out from his Thanksgiving wedding.  She’s able to find cabins to rent to the wedding party and family on board to make this dream wedding happen.

Charlotte isn’t certain about Andy’s relationship with his bride-to-be, Phoebe.  But she’s trying to accept the young woman for Andy’s sake.  However, their first night on board the ship, someone kills Phoebe.  The head of the ship’s security is certain that Andy is the culprit, but Charlotte doesn’t believe it.  She and her sister, Jane, team up to figure out what really happened.  Can they clear his name?

I must admit, when I started to read this book, I was a bit put off by the fact that this cruise was to Alaska.  In November.  Anyone who knows anything about cruising knows that the major cruise lines don’t sail there that time of year.  Of course, this is a private cruise ship.  And fiction.  However, a couple of the characters make observations about it as well, so I was very quickly able to let that go.

And I’m glad I didn’t let that get in my way since I had a fabulous time with the book.  Charlotte has quite a backstory, but I didn’t feel like it slowed down the beginning of the book at all.  In fact, the book goes a great job of getting us into the mystery as quickly as possible.  As Charlotte and Jane begin their investigation, the list of suspects begins to grow, which I appreciated.  I did feel like Charlotte’s interactions with one character got repetitive, but that’s a minor complaint.  There were plenty of twists, revelations, and family drama to keep me glued to the pages.  The climax is perfectly logical.

We met the majority of the characters in a group scene.  When that happens, I usually struggle to keep them straight, and that proved true here.  However, as I got further into the book, I began to remember who all the characters were.  By the end, they’d grown into characters I cared about.

Charlotte and Jane stood out from the beginning.  I really liked these sisters, and I enjoyed spending time with them watching them solve the case.  I’m happy that I’ve got two more books in the series to get to know them better.

And, of course, the cruise ship setting was fabulous.  I loved getting to pretend I was being spoiled like the characters were.  Well, when they weren’t dealing with a very real murder.  The book does walk the fine line and treats the murder as the serious business it is.

I was sad to turn the final page of Until Depths Do Us Part.  I will definitely be booking my next cruise with Charlotte and Jane soon.

Ornament Review: Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows - 2024 Hallmark Release

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Great ornament for the last Harry Potter novel

Cons: None for me

The Bottom Line:

Final Harry book

Gets the ornament treatment

With part in 3D

Unofficially, This Harry Potter Ornament Series Ends

While Hallmark never made it an official series, we haven’t missed a year of ornaments based on Harry Potter book covers.  I’ve enjoyed collecting them, and I’m sorry to see the series ending with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Like the others, this is a representation of the book cover with a 3D element.  If you are familiar with the cover of the book, you’ll know what to expect here.  We’ve got Harry in front of a building.  He’s got one arm up in the air.  Harry himself is coming off the cover.  The back of the ornament has the back cover of the book, but nothing is popping out.  While the book doesn’t open, the sides do look like the pages of a closed book.

Once again, this is a fun way for a book fan, and especially a fan of these books, to add them to their Christmas tree.  I love it.

Many of the others in the series would stand on their own since the ornament is basically a book.  That’s not the case here.  Harry’s robes are sticking out just slightly below the edges of the cover, so it won’t stand.  You wouldn’t want to try to force it to rest of those bits of plastic either.

The good news is, the ornament hangs straight when you go to put it on your tree.

As I said, this was never an official series, so there is no series marker anywhere on the ornament.

Of course, there is the possibility that this series will extend one more year.  I’m wondering if they intend to release an ornament for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.  The script for the play was released in book form, after all.  But it doesn’t have a similar cover to how the rest of these have looked.  It will be interesting to see what they do in 2025.

Whether the series goes one more year or stops here, I’m glad I’ve added these Harry Potter books to my collection.  Fans of the series will want to make sure Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is in their collection.

September 8th's Sunday/Monday Post

It's that time of the week again.  Time for another Sunday/Monday Post where I will be linking up to:

Sunday Post
Sunday Salon
Stacking the Shelves
It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

If you haven't heard, it's HOT here.  I went for a run before work Thursday morning, and it was around 80 when I got back.  It's been right around 110 as the high, and not cooling off as much as normal at night.  Yes, we get hot here in So Cal, but it's usually not that hot.  But it's supposed to be cooling down starting Tuesday.  By next weekend, I think we are looking at low 80's as the high.

Now, mind you, I'm not complaining.  I'm that weirdo that enjoys summer.  This might be a little hotter than I would normally enjoy, but it means time at the pool.  Or the beach, which is where I went Monday for Labor Day.  More importantly, I'm not always cold this way, which is how I am the rest of the year.  And we always get at least one hot spell in September.  Sometimes more than one and sometimes into October.

Other than that, it's been a fairly quiet week.  It was quarter end at work, so it was extra busy.  I've finished the extra reporting I need to do, at least until others start reviewing it.  Hopefully, I can move on to other things quickly since I have lots to do before the 20th.

My small group from church did meet this week for the first time since our summer break.  Granted, I see them at church, but it was still nice.

This Past Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - Movie Review: The Glass Bottom Boat

Tuesday - Book Review: A Royal Affair by Allison Montclair

Wednesday - TV Show Review: Tracker - Season 1

Thursday - Book Review: A Scape Goat for Murder by Jacqueline Vick

Friday - Book Review: The Late Show by Michael Connelly

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

This Coming Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - Ornament Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Tuesday - Book Review: Until Depths Do Us Part by K.B. Jackson

Wednesday - TV Show Review: Night Court Reboot - Season 2

Thursday - Book Review: 26 Below by Kimberly Woodhouse

Friday - Friday Post

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

Book Haul:

I've got three books to tell you about this week.

The first two are eARCs from Berkley.  Yes, I've got the books I want from them for October and November already.

Up first will be A Merry Little Murder Plot, the fifteenth Library Lover's Mystery from Jenn McKinlay.  I love this series!  We had an earlier book in the series set at Christmas, but it wasn't a huge part of the story, so I'm looking forward to seeing how a book that definitely plays into the holiday turns out.

I've also got We Three Queens, the eighteenth Royal Spyness Mystery from Rhys Bowen.  No, this isn't another Christmas book.  Instead, it's got Wallis Simpson in hiding (these books are set in 1930's England) and a film crew making a movie about Henry VIII.  Looking forward to seeing what happens with this one.

My final book is an audiobook from the library.  I was second in line for What Time the Sexton's Spade Doth Rust by Alan Bradley.  This is book eleven in the Flavia de Luce series, which I thought had ended a few years ago.  And it just came out this week.  The library only has one electric audiobook copy, and I was second in line, so I didn't expect to get it for a couple of weeks.  I guess whoever was first couldn't borrow it this week because I got the notification it was ready for me Tuesday morning.

What I'm Currently Reading:

I want to get through that audiobook as quickly as I can so the next person on the list can listen to it.  As a result, I started What Time the Sexton's Spade Doth Rust Friday night while running a few errands.  I'm an hour into the nine hour audiobook.  So far, I'm enjoying it.  It's great to be back with Flavia, although her cousin could get shipped to boarding school, and I'd be perfectly happy.

I'm also working on Mrs. Claus and the Nightmare Before New Year's by Liz Ireland.  If you've been paying attention over the last few years, you know how much I LOVE this series, and book five is no exception so far.  I'm about a third of the way through, and I'm thinking I know part of what is going to happen, but I'm curious to see if I'm right.  And I have no idea where the main mystery is going to go.  And yes, this is set at the North Pole with Santa's wife getting involved in mysteries.  They are a delight.

That's it for me.  Have a great week!

September 7th's Weekly TV Thoughts

American Ninja Warrior – Phew, Joe made it through.  I was so sorry that Daniel Gil fell right there at the end.  So very close!  And have I said how much I hate the racing this week?  If you make it through the course, you should be able to move on.  Period.  I hate to see people leaving because of the racing.  I liked that this sport wasn’t about that, or at least didn’t used to be.

The Challenge – I’ve got to admit, I was rooting for both players in era 1 to wind up safe.  And if you say you are going to be at risk next week, you really need to follow through.  Otherwise, you look like a coward.  Also, I’m ready for Michelle from era 4 to step up and go into the arena.  She doesn’t have to go home, but I need her to actually play down there for a change.  As to the trivia challenge, they sure seemed to get a lot of the questions wrong.  Since I’ve hardly watched the show, I didn’t know the answers either, but I have an excuse.  I was surprised at how few questions the players got right.

Book Review: The Late Show by Michael Connelly (Renee Ballard #1)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Great cases and an interesting new lead

Cons: Ballard, while a great main character, is very much a Bosch clone

The Bottom Line:

Meet new character

Three compelling mysteries

Book hard to put down

Not Sure the Character is New, but the Story is Great

I realize I’m still years behind on Michael Connelly’s books, but I feel like I’m catching up.  It helps that I remember when The Late Show first came out, and me thinking it would take me forever to get caught up to that point.  Yet here I am.

This book represents a change for Michael Connelly since he’s introducing a new character, something he hadn’t done for years at this point.  LAPD Renee Ballard has been demoted to the overnight shift in Hollywood, a definitely step down for this detective.  The overnight shift, called the late show, is usually a punishment for detectives who have fallen out of favor for one reason or another.  Renee is frustrated since it means she never gets to see a case through.  Her job is to be the first detective on the scene and then pass things off to the day shift detectives who actually solve the case.

On one night, that changes when three cases fall into Ballard’s lap.  The first is a woman who had her credit card stolen.  Then, Ballard and her partner are called to the hospital when a transgendered individual is brought in after being left for dead.  Finally, they haven’t even left the hospital when they are called on to assist with a shooting at a nightclub.  Ballard manages to find ways to stay involved in all three cases.  But will she be able to solve them?

While Ballad is technically a new character, she feels like a younger, female version of Bosch.  She goes rogue whenever necessary (and it’s always necessary).  She’s been sent to Hollywood division after an issue with a supervisor.  She has a poor personal life because she is devoted to her work.  It will be interesting to see how I feel about these comparisons when Ballard and Bosch start teaming up since the differences will be more obvious then, I’m sure.  I also don’t feel like his other lead characters have been as similar as these two are.

Now, don’t misunderstand what I just said.  I liked Ballard.  She is a compelling lead, and I enjoyed spending time around her as she worked on these cases.  Likewise, I enjoyed meeting the rest of the cast, although Ballard is the one we get to know the best.

I also found the plot to be good.  I saw some things coming early, but there were some other twists that completely caught me off guard.  The three cases wove in and out of each other well, keeping me engaged the entire time.  And I didn’t feel like any of them got short changed.

The narrator for the audio version was Katherine Moennig.  She did an okay job, although sometimes it was a little hard to tell who was speaking in a scene.  She’s still much better than the narrator I heard for the first few Connelly books.  (If you suffered through those versions, you know what I’m talking about.)

As always, keep in mind this is a police procedural.  There is one scene in particular that I felt pushed things a little further than they needed to go, but on the whole, this is focused on the cases Ballard is investigating without going further than it needs to go.

Connelly loves to put in winks and nods to the various film and TV versions of his books, and this contains the first references to the Bosch TV show.  It’s just a quick thing, but it’s still fun.  (And I guess I need to find a way to start watching it now.  I was waiting until I got the books read first.)

It’s interesting to see Connelly introduce a new character at this point in his career.  I’m very curious to see where he intends to go with Ballard.  If you haven’t met her yet, you’ll be glad you picked up The Late Show.

Enjoy the rest of the Renee Ballard Mysteries.

Book Review: A Scape Goat for Murder by Jacqueline Vick (Frankie Chandler Pet Psychic Mysteries #6)

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Fun with Frankie; compelling mystery

Cons: Plot leaves several whys dangling in rush to end

The Bottom Line:

Fiancé is hurt

With only a goat witness

Rushed ending is weak

Frankie Butts Heads with Another Four-Legged Witness

One thing I appreciate about the Frankie Chandler, Pet Psychic Mysteries is that each book features a different animal that Frankie must try to gather clues from.  A Scape Goat for Murder features, you guessed it, a goat.  And the case has very personal stakes for Frankie.

When the series started, Frankie Chandler was a pet behavioral specialist who pretended to be a psychic.  That is until she actually started communicating with animals.  That ability has gotten her involved in several murders, and now, in book six, she’s a few weeks away from marrying Detective Martin Bowers.

Frankie’s life takes an unexpected turn when she gets a phone call from Martin’s partner.  Martin has been in an accident while investigating an old case.  No one quite knows what he was doing on the hillside where he fell.  And no one will talk about what is going on.  Even the doctor won’t update Frankie on Martin’s condition.

So Frankie does the only thing she can.  She starts to investigating what lead up to Martin’s accident.  She finds the location – which happens to be next to a goat farm.  And one of the goats seems to have witnessed what happened.  Can Frankie bribe the information out of him?  What do the images he sends even mean?

In case it wasn’t obvious before, these are comedic mysteries.  I didn’t even get into Martin’s two sisters who are staying with Frankie and keep hindering/helping as she investigates.  I laughed plenty of times as the book went on at their interactions and at some of the situations that Frankie got into.  I will say that some of the interactions did feel repetitive before the book was over.  I was expecting a bit more of a resolution to this particular subplot.

The mystery started out strong with plenty of complications to keep us engaged.  However, the book rushed to wrap things up.  In that rush, a rather big part of the story was left dangling.  Yes, we get the who did it.  But the why was completely abandoned.  And I need my whys answered, too, not just the who done it.

I did enjoy getting to spend more time with Frankie and Martin.  Some of the other characters we’ve met along the way are involved, but in smaller parts.  In fact, this was really about Frankie and one of Martin’s sisters more than anyone else.  But this allowed us time to see some growth in Frankie, which I liked.

Fans of the series will be glad they picked up A Scape Goat for Murder even if it is a weak entry overall in the series.

I can see you wanting to check out the rest of the Frankie Chandler Pet Psychic Mysteries.

TV Show Review - Tracker - Season 1

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Strong mysteries with a great lead character

Cons: Could develop supporting characters more; Shaw family backstory

The Bottom Line:

Traveling country

Finding people for rewards

Can not wait for more

“You Collect Rewards, Right? A Mercenary?” “I Prefer the Term Rewardist.”

Having followed the career of Justin Hartley for a while, I was immediately interested in Tracker, his new show on CBS.  Plus, it is a mystery show, and I do love mysteries.  Thanks to its post-super bowl debut, and the show got off to a huge start.  I’m one of those who has been enjoying it the entire way through.

The show revolves around Colter Shaw (Justin Hartley), a man who lives out of the trailer he tows around the country.  He makes his living as a rewardist (his term).  Basically, he goes to where people are offering rewards for helping them find people who have gone missing.  He uses his unique skills from growing up off the grid to find them, and then collects the money.

Over the course of these thirteen episodes, Colter finds a missing boy kidnapped by his father.  He looks for a boy who has joined a cult.  He searching for a missing woman who was exposing a secret in her town.  He tries to find a witness that could free a convicted killer.  He tries to find a missing groom who vanished two weeks before his wedding.  He looks for survivors from a plane that went down in the wilderness.  And he tries to figure out what happened to two storm chasers.

The mysteries of the week are very well done.  I was always intrigued and pulled in by the complications that Colter experienced along the way.  Yes, there are some things that are already feeling like cliches (probably because they go with the genre overall) like the threats and warning to leave town that he ignores.  I don’t mind.  I’m having fun with them.

My concern from the beginning was that Colter might be a bit too mercenary since he is out for the reward.  Yes, the money does bring him in, but he does quickly come to care about his client and the people he’s trying to find.  It really helps humanize him.

But there are some things that don’t quite work for me.  Like who are these people helping him?  I would normally expect more backstory, like how he met these people.  He generally talks to most of them over the phone, so they don’t have much to do.  But I’m still curious how those relationships formed.  The pilot doesn’t give us that backstory, because in many ways it feels like any other episode.

Also, there’s the Shaw family backstory.  We can’t have a show without some kind of on going storyline these days, right?  It was brought up very rarely in the first season.  We’ve gotten some interesting teases that things aren’t all as Colter believes.  I’m wondering how long they are going to drag this out.  There were plenty of episodes where we never heard anything about it overall.

Both of these are minor irritants in an otherwise enjoyable and entertaining season.

So far, the show has stirred clear of being too political for the most part.  A couple of throw away lines rubbed me the wrong way, and there was one storyline that touched on immigration.  Hopefully, things don’t get much worse because I want to keep enjoying the show.  For the record, I sit down to be entertained, not lectured.

Justin Hartley is the anchor that holds this show together.  He’s in almost every scene, and he nails the performance.  He makes it easy to care about Colter and the case he’s investigating.  As I said, the other regulars are very much supporting players, but I enjoy their performances as well.  And the guest cast is always great.

Season one consisted of thirteen episodes, and there wasn’t a truly bad one in the bunch.  I’m curious to see where they are going to go with season two.

If you’ve missed this show, now’s the time to catch up on season one of Tracker so you’ll be ready to enjoy season two this fall.  You won’t be disappointed.

Book Review: A Royal Affair by Allison Montclair (Sparks and Bainbridge Mysteries #2)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Main characters, banter, good story

Cons: A little overly convoluted, but still makes sense

The Bottom Line:

Hired to find truth

Behind a royal scandal

Characters still fun

Protecting Royal Love

With so many wonderful series out there, I don’t always get back to them as quickly as I’d like to.  Which is why it took me a year to read the second Sparks and Bainbridge Mystery after enjoying the first.  But I’m glad I finally picked up A Royal Affair.

This series is set in 1946 London.  Iris Sparks, a former British operative, and Gwen Bainbridge, a war widow, have teamed up to start The Right Sort Marriage Bureau as their part in the effort to help life go back to normal.  Their business is just beginning to take off, helped by some recent publicity, when they get a surprising visit.

Someone has sent Princess Elizabeth a letter hinting at a scandal in the past of Prince Philip.  The letter was intercepted, and Iris and Gwen have been approached to find out if there is any truth to the scandal or not.  Since it is believed that the two royals are heading for an engagement by the end of the summer, time is of the essence.

When Iris and Gwen begin digging in to see if there is truth behind the insinuation, they hit dead ends and uncertain connections.  Can they find out if someone is about to out a royal scandal?

This book jumped right into the story.  While it had a quick detour or two, it stayed pretty focused throughout the book.  There was plenty of history, in an entertaining way, and some fantastic twists on the way to the climax.  While the climax did answer all the questions, I feel like the story was a bit too convoluted than it needed to be.  But maybe that’s just me.

Iris and Gwen are two very different women, and they complement each other so well.  That’s the case again here.  It really does take both of them and their connections to solve the case, and I appreciate that.  They are partners in the business and in the case.  I was a bit disappointed we didn’t get too much advancement on sub-plots about their personal lives introduced in the first book, but that’s minor.  They are very real characters, and the rest of the cast of characters rise to match them.

Obviously, this book brings in real world events since the plot involves some real people.  That didn’t hurt the suspense at all because I was still very curious exactly what was going on.  I also enjoyed the picture of life after the second world war in a city that was hit hard.

What I’d forgotten from the first book was the humor.  I laughed quite a bit as the story went along.  The banter between Iris and Gwen is fantastic.  And their reaction to the events and others they encounter adds to the fun.  The book takes itself seriously when it needs to, but I enjoyed getting to have fun with them along the way.

The book is told from multiple points of view.  We mostly get the story from Gwen and Iris’s points of view, which helps us since they are sometimes investigating on their own.  These breaks are always clear and easy to follow.

Reading A Royal Affair reminded me just why I enjoyed the first one so much.  Now, to make time to read the next in the series sooner rather than later.

Be sure to match with the rest of the Sparks and Bainbridge Mysteries.

Movie Review: The Glass Bottom Boat

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Some laughs and fun

Cons: Too silly at times; ending glosses over too much

The Bottom Line:

Lots happens in film

But resolution is weak

Too silly for me

NASA, Romance, Spies…and a Mermaid

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I sat down to watch The Glass Bottom Boat.  I just knew it was the next Doris Day movie to watch to be ready for the next Madison Night mystery (coming later this month).  I was expecting romance and comedy, but I wasn’t expecting the spy plot.

In this movie, Doris Day plays Jennifer Nelson, a widow who has just gotten a day job working in the PR department at NASA’s facility in Southern California.  When she catches the attention of the head of the entire plant, Bruce Templeton (Rod Taylor), he goes out of his way to start a relationship with her.  Everything seems to be going well, but there’s just one problem.  A Russian spy is trying to uncover the secret of Bruce’s latest invention.  This is 1966, after all, and the space race hasn’t quite reached its conclusion.  The evidence seems to be pointing to Jennifer as the spy.  What will happen next?

Are you wondering about the glass bottom boat of the title?  Jennifer’s father runs a glass bottom boat business on the nearby island of Catalina, and Jennifer spends time on the weekends playing mermaid for her father’s tours.  That actually comes into play in the opening scene, but doesn’t really show up again.  It makes me wonder why they named the movie after that.  Or why it was even included.

Well, that does give us a great meet cute for Jennifer and Bruce.  This movie shows that the tropes in romantic comedies are nothing new.  Which isn’t an issue when they are well done and you are having fun.  For much of this movie, I was.  I like the two characters, and I got invested in their relationship.  While it was obvious where the misunderstandings were coming from as far as Jennifer being a spy, I was enjoying seeing that plot play out as well.

What took me by surprise was the slapstick comedy of the piece.  I think what surprised me most was that I didn’t warm to it like I thought I would.  I’m wondering if my tastes have changed, if those antics are best enjoyed with a group of others, or if it just didn’t fit this movie.  The film certainly didn’t need it most of the time.  I will say the one place I felt it was fun was in the climax when Jennifer finds herself in trouble.

This movie has one of my least favorite endings for a romantic comedy – the non-ending ending.  What do I mean by that?  At the beginning of act three, the truth of what has been going on has come to light, and Jennifer is rightly upset.  We then get caught up in the Russian spy part of the story, which eats up too much of the rest of the run time of the film.  Granted, I was having lots of fun with this, and I was rooting Jennifer on as she confused everyone about what was going on.  It was great fun to watch.  But in the midst of all of this confusion, the relationship revelations just got glossed over.  And there were some serious issues that needed to be addressed.  Or, since this is a movie, at least apologized for.  I would have been okay with a 30 second scene to resolve this, and we didn’t even get that.  (And I agree that we should have gotten much more in real life.)  That left me feeling unsatisfied even though I’d been rooting for Jennifer and Bruce for the entire movie.

None of this goes against the cast, who are clearly have a great deal of fun as they bring the story to life.  Yes, some of the effects and stunts are dated, but this is a 1960’s romantic comedy.  Just accept that, and you’ll be fine.

I can see an audience for The Glass Bottom Boat – those looking for a light, forgettable romantic comedy.  But for me, it was a little too silly to really work with a disappointing ending.

Labor Day Weekend's Sunday/Monday Post

Time for this week's Sunday/Monday Post.  Yes, I'm doing them two weeks in a row!  I will be linking up to:

Sunday Post
Sunday Salon
Stacking the Shelves
It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

It was a pretty quiet week.  I tried to take it easy and shake off my cold.  It's definitely doing better, but I still have some congestion.  I just want it to go away!

I got a random package this week - one I wasn't expecting.  Turned out, it was a page a day calendar I ordered back at the end of the year.  The post office had claimed they delivered it in early January, but I never got it, so I'd gotten a replacement.  No clue where it's been for the last nine months.  The box was unopened.  So, did the post office have it?  Did a neighbor get it and just now pass it on?

It's quarter end at work again.  (Remember, we have that slightly off fiscal year.)  It always hits around a holiday.  Not looking forward to the next couple of weeks.

But in the meantime, it is a three day weekend here in the states.  I'm hoping to get to the beach at some point to enjoy our resurgence of nice weather.  Okay, fine, it's going to be triple digits where I live.  I'm sure I won't be lonely at the beach.

Joke of the Week:

The bartender says, "We don't serve time travelers here."
A time traveler walks into a bar.

This Past Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - Book Review: Between a Flock and a Hard Place by Donna Andrews

Tuesday - Movie Review: A Fatal Engagement - Nelly Knows Mysteries

Wednesday - Book Review: French Quarter Fright Night by Ellen Byron

Thursday - August Reading Summary

Friday - Friday Post featuring A Royal Affair

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

This Coming Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - Movie Review: The Glass Bottom Boat

Tuesday - Book Review: A Royal Affair by Allison Montclair

Wednesday - TV Show Review: Tracker - Season 1

Thursday - Book Review: A Scape Goat for Murder by Jacqueline Vick
Friday - Book Review: The Late Show by Michael Connelly

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

Book Haul:

Would you believe I just have two books to talk about this week?  Rather shocking, isn't it?

The first is a preorder.  It actually came out last week, but it took a few days to arrive.  Shock and Paw is the eighth Cat Cafe Mystery from Cate Conte.  It's the second Christmas entry in the series.  I really enjoy these books, and I'm looking forward to it, but I'm going to save it to enjoy closer to Christmas.  Whether that turns out to be late November or early December, we will have to see.  I haven't planned out my reading quite that far in advance yet.

The second book is Ranch Dressing by Diane Vallere.  This is the latest in her Samantha Kidd series.  I've been reading some of her other series and focusing on them, so I'm still a couple Samantha books behind, but I will be enjoying this one next year at some point.  I'm so close to being caught up on all of Diane Vallere's books.

What I'm Currently Reading:

I decided to bump a couple of those books I talked about in my book haul last week up and read them right away.  That means Friday, I finished Until Depths Do Us Part by K.B. Jackson.  This is the first in her Cruising Sisters Mysteries.  And it was great!  A wedding on a private cruise ship ends in tragedy when the bride to be in killed.  I've got to write my review, but as you can see, I'm not planning to review it this week anyway.

I've just barely started 26 Below by Kimberly Woodhouse.  As in, I'm about 40 pages in.  So far, we have been having some set up, but I think the plot just took the first turn, so I'm anxious to see where it will go from here.

If you are in the States, I hope you have something fun planned for the long weekend.  No matter where you are, I hope you have a great week.